Gardiner Murder-Suicide Connected To Sidney Fire

Police have released the identities of the couple killed in a murder-suicide in Gardiner, and say it's connected to a fire in Sidney.

Public Safety spokesman Steve McCausland says 48-year-old Kenneth Bryant and 44-year-old Autumn Bryant were in the process of a divorce when he traveled to Gardiner on Tuesday. Police say Kenneth shot Autumn in the garage, where she was found Tuesday morning. She was rushed to a local hospital, but passed away from her injuries. Kenneth's body was found in his pickup truck that was parked in the driveway. The estranged couple lived in Livermore Falls, but Autumn had been living at her brother's house in Gardiner since she separated from her husband in November.

The State Fire Marshal's Office now believes that Kenneth set fire to a lakefront home in Sidney before traveling to Gardiner. The house is owned by Lawrence Gilman, who's married to Autumn's mother, Terry. No one was home at the Poppy Lane home, that sits on Messalonskee Lake, because the couple lives in Florida during the winter, and no one was hurt in the blaze. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.